Idris Elba has co-written a stage show about life in South Africa after Nelson Mandela, which will have its premiere in Manchester next summer.
The Luther star has written Tree with Kwame Kwei-Armah, the new artistic director of London’s Young Vic theatre.
Elba played the late South African president in the 2013 film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Tree will combine drama with music, dance and film, and will be part of the 2019 Manchester International Festival.
However, Elba won’t appear in the show, which is also inspired by the 2014 album Mi Mandela, which saw the actor bring together British and South African musicians.
Elba said he and Kwei-Armah had “both experienced personal moments of healing connected with the country and we’re starting to explore that together”.
He said: “For me, an interesting part of the process is looking at the next part of the story; the new universe that sprung up after Mandela.”
Mr Mandela was president of South Africa from 1994-1999 and died in 2013.
The show will run at Upper Campfield Market Hall from 29 June to 10 July before transferring to the Young Vic.
